ramblings

All posts filed under: Interior Design

It’s final reveal time. At last! (previous post here). I’m super excited to be able to share the photos from the Red Room project. For those of you that have been following this one, apologies, but i’m about to recap. Here is the storyline for this one: Initial consultation – The brief was to make the room work in terms of function (family room with a TV and plenty of seating), keep the red walls (hence the project name) and pull it all together. Before My plan was to block off the doorway into what was originally a room intended to be a dining room in order to give them a long run of wall to turn allow sofa seating a view to the soon to be TV. I’d already moved the sofa at this point btw and asked them to live with it like this for a few weeks to get used to the new flow around the house. Always something worth doing when you’re about to adjust layout that requires building work. The vintage …

So first off, massive thanks to everyone who took the time to feed back on my previous post. Everyone’s ideas were just what I needed for a little inspo boost. So again, thank you! And so, back to normal stuff… it’s project update time! You can catch up on the Multi Function Room here. Here’s the room on my first visit. The second bedroom which needs to become a guest room and home office in one. Here it is about a month later with the gorgeously botanical Wildacre Anagpytpa freshly papered on the walls and the ceiling painted (don’t worry, we’ve got coving and skirting boards to be fitted – i’m not starting a new “trim-less” trend). Here’s Cartman the cat inspecting the workmanship, plus a little close-up of the wallpaper pre-paint. Speaking of which, here’s the colour scheme: Little Greene Stock – Mid | Aquamarine | Invisible Green Aquamarine on the walls, Stock – Mid on the ceiling and Invisible Green, that super dark, deep green will be going on the …

Because sometimes things take a little longer than planned… here’s Pt 2 of the pre-reveal. I wasn’t planning a Pt 2, but I also wasn’t planning for one of the light fittings to be broken, for the curtains to be such a pain (why are curtains always such a pain?) or for the electrician to be quite as elusive (why are electricians always elusive?) View this post on Instagram Oh my god, Monday, you've done me in! Five hours of admin followed by a four hour styling session. We are soooo nearly ready for the final reveal of this project. Curtains arriving this week, few more frames to sort and a ceiling light refitted after a small disaster. Then a bit more faffing obviously. I absolutely love the Alfred wallpaper by @anaglyptauk. It adds so much depth and texture to the room. What could have been a really stark contrast of black and red… is softened by the ornate pattern in the wallpaper. See how the light hits it in different ways? Really beautiful. More …

I get a couple of emails a month from people that might have found me via a blog post or an Instagram pic, asking me how I got started. How did I set up Making Spaces with no formal qualifications in design? And in my head, I just kind of go, erm… I just built a website and got started…. but then I have a proper think and find myself asking the same question. One Year Later, October 2015 “I’ve never had “a job”. The concept of “a job” scares the shit out of me. I’ve always been self-employed and been my own boss and worked myself hard. But having the freedom to make creative decisions is something I hold very dear. In fact it’s my air. I genuinely admire people such as my OH that can commit to a full time job, working for someone else. I tried to convince myself that I could do it too, get a sales job in an interiors shop or something, but if i’m honest with myself, I was just …

I’m asked a lot of similar questions during a consultation including things like: What colour would you put on the walls? What kind of light fitting? Where will I hang this piece of art? Which is what you’d expect I guess. During the initial consultation I can give some rough ideas as to what, where and why but I can’t say 100% until i’ve pieced together the whole room. Putting a room together is an equation. Or a recipe. Take out a pinch of that and you need to add a touch of this in order to balance everything out. Make sense? For a new project, I always begin by Pinning ideas to a board; overall room concepts, products, surface coverings and some of the more pedestrian stuff like fixtures and fittings. More often than not, I’ll Pin several choices for each item to give the client some wiggle room with the design. That’s the beauty of client-led design, they’re as much as responsible for the room as you are really, we’re just there guiding …

Just got back from a visit to The Red Room project. Big smiles here 😀 I dreamt about it last night as i’ve been itching to get there all week. I spoke to the homeowner after all the major work had been completed last week; new stove, mantel piece, door blocked up and plastered, walls wallpapered and then painted. So we’re onto the final straight peeps. The fun stuff! View this post on Instagram It'ssssss project visit time!! Dreamt about it all last night… Because I'm a weirdo. . . . . #workingmum #interiordesigner #interiordesign #interiordesigncollective #eclecticinteriors #homedecor #makingspaces #designupnorth #design #interiordesigner #livingroom #apartmenttherapy #mystylishspace #vintage #howivintage #atmine #houseofhackney #williammorris #pattern #upholstery #velvet #chesterfield A post shared by making spaces (@makingspacesnet) on Sep 22, 2017 at 12:50am PDT This is what it looked like on my last visit, which you can read all about here. So many of you loved that distressed plastered wall, but alas there was a door to board up and skim over, so it wasn’t meant to be. This time. (Let …

In short, no. No you can’t. But as creative people, we have to, in order to make a living. An artist charges £500 for a painting perhaps, which sounds a lot doesn’t it? But then when you find out it took them a week to create it and cost them £70 in materials (canvas, brushes, paints….) £430 for 40 hours work doesn’t quite sound as good does it? That’s £10.75 p/hr by the way. For someone that’s maybe got a BA in fine art. And 40 hours is always 60 hours, because any creative person starts work as soon as they get out of bed and doesn’t switch off until the lights are out. Even then, the brain continues to whirr and race with ideas. I have been known to solve design dilemmas in my dreams. So even when i’m asleep, i’m working. That’s kind of annoying. But what happens when you work in a service industry and the service you provide isn’t tangible? When the service you provide is a long and lengthy process …

Charlie’s room has ended up being a much larger project that originally planned (sorry Pete). The whole design process has been bubbling away in the background for a few months now and am so excited to finally share Part 2. (Part 1 here). This kid’s bedroom is all about the plywood!! There are still plenty of pieces left to go in (carpets and single bed) but it’s the joinery that’s really transformed this room. So let’s get on with the pics shall we? Before After Before | During After I absolutely love it. It’s so mental to see an idea in your head executed so accurately. The guys from Leeds and London based Bare Joinery are mega. Give them a follow, because i’ve been bullying them to set up a proper Instagram account for months and i’m going to look like a right numpty if it’s tumbleweed. The design is a perfect marriage of function and form. I’ve finally reclaimed the living room (and several other parts of the house) and have managed to get all …

I’m not going to lie. I can’t concentrate on anything today, it’s ALL about the Interior Design Collective’s official website launch. Everything else, like actual work (and self-care) has to take a back seat. View this post on Instagram Today's the day! It's really happening…. the Interior Design Collective is officially launching today and our website is now well and truly 'LIVE' (link in bio). Over the last few months Fiona Duke from @fionadukeinteriors and Karen Knox from @makingspacesnet, have been developing the IDC concept and brand aiming to spread the word on accessible, unique and creative interior design and we now have an actual 'community!' – a community of 13 AMAZING designers from all over the UK. So what are you waiting for?? Head on over…… Have a good old look around….. We're ready for you and you're all welcome. Can't wait to hear what you think 😊 . . . . #interiors #interiordesign #interiordesigner #interiordesigninspiration #interiordesigners #interiordesigninspo #interiorstyling #interiorstylist #interiorstylists #interiorstyle #interiorandhome #design #eclecticdecor #interiordesigncollective #eclecticinteriors #website #launch #brand #launchday #creatives #realhomes #mastermind …

When the lovely Ally of Digital Diva fame, booked me for a day’s consultation last August at their new home, I walked into a house I wasn’t quite expecting. A stunning, Grade II listed, late Georgian, early Victorian stone built property, just three or so miles away from my own home in North Leeds. This isn’t what it looked like, don’t worry. This is a photo from 2015 before it was bought by a developer. The whole place had been refurbed to a pretty good standard and whilst the developers retained the beautiful period features, some of the fixtures and fittings were not quite cutting it for the new owners, Ally and James. This was their kitchen back in August 2016, with shaker style units, range cooker, large island unit, solid oak worktop, open shelving, original Yorkshire stone floor and built in pantry by the side of the restored fireplace. So all in all, the makings of a wonderful kitchen. The layout was great. No issues with that. But these guys weren’t feeling the space and weren’t sure how …